Author's note: Sorry. Couldn't finish the ending for this chapter like I said I would. I'm sick and I took a while to edit this chapter since I can't sit for too long. Just a cold, don't worry about me. But I didn't want to keep you guys waiting for a chapter, so here it is.
Reviews:
TheEmeraldMage: Yeah, I like to reference different series. Like dbz and jjk. Things like that. But it lasted about 1 and 30 minutes. Or something like that. I'm not the best with the times. But just know that the dreadful hour is 12! Anyway, I'd say I reference the Frieza fight when Hajime fought Bragard back in GX. Then it turned into a Metal Cooler fight. I would say this one was inspired moby of the kid buu fight at the beginning. At least in terms of combat. And of course, the whole going through the planet attack. Their fight is long mainly because I skipped some scenes where they're just punching each other and blasting each other. Primarily because they'd be repetitive. When people are talking, like Bragi and company or anyone else when the scene changes, they are still fighting. Oh yeah, Hajime, despite all the odds and Hazuki tagging out so Loki can get him the victory, fought hard. He knows how important this fight is and what it means if they lose. And like he said, Hibiki is his inspiration. He was thinking of her the whole time which helped him keep getting up until his body gave out. Kind of like those moments when you push yourself to the max, but your body just can't keep up with your will. Right, good eye. Bragi is not going to have an easier time. What can we do against the guy who left Hajime on the ground? But we'll see what he has in mind. Yeah, I never really outright said what happened to his mom. There were hints throughout the story but never a total confirmation. Loki has no filters so he just said it to try and discourage Hajime.
Anthony Galupo: Ryugaverse
Ryugen: Yeah, thank you for the cards. RightAske we suspected, Hazuki's just using his followers. They're a tool to be used and draw power from. Good thing Hajime can use Verde's powers. Maybe it's because of his traits as a Messiah? As for the final vent...He didn't get the chance to use it. But you'll see it soon.
Guest: Lo tenia fichado a Hajime. Si cae el, los demas siguen.
BladeBrave04: Hell yeah. Hajime is not going to give up that easily. Let's just hope Bragi can do something to Loki until Hajime can come and help him again. He won't get his wish so easily.
primenidus: Can't have a good chapter without one.
nicolasseverino95: Nah, it's okay. I get you're excited. Not yet. But I've seen it. Looks pretty cool. He is a snake...a dragon...a snake dragon.
SoutaAmetsuchi: Playing dirty using the God of Mischief to his advantage. I guess we should have seen this coming. Hazuki was never going to fight fairly. Weird how Verde is the one who Hajime is using. If you go back into the story, you figured it'd be another Rider. I don't think Zeke and Hajime ever interacted with each other lol. Oh, yes. I want the best for Bragi too. He's one of my favorite characters.
Lord RI Husbu King: I responded to your message on the app. I don't know if you received the reply. Well...it depends. I'm not an expert but I've seen movies and shows and people say that a human can go to any extreme in order to survive. And for your other question...no. I call it an island, but it was a small land where they landed. Only his mom had any survival skills since she's an adventurer. But she got sick because she had a pretty bad wound, so she didn't make it. And you're right. Hajime is flatly just stronger. A big contrast to how their first fight went. No Hazuki needs outside help to even stand a chance in the form of Loki. And for the last thing...Kind of. Not really. But you'll see.
Dragstorm rider: Two dragons. Two brothers, fighting for their ideal of a perfect world. But Hazuki is insane and wants to win at any cost, including the lives of other people. Now Bragi tags in and hopes he can buy Hajime enough time to recover. Can they stop Hazuki? Only time will tell.
Tenlalucard123: I can feel the rage in this comment. But I understand it. It all depends on Bragi now.
Chapter 151
Lost Bonds
Inside a small house in Minato, Japan, an elderly couple sat in their living room, watching the news that was taking over every single channel on television. The battle between two armored warriors raged on in front of their eyes as they waited patiently for the end. They had heard the news. Today was supposed to be the day humanity ended. And the red warrior was the wall preventing them from disaster.
"That bastard child..." Komori Kuwana cursed under her breath."I hope he dies and rots in hell..."
"Dear..." Kosuke sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"It's because of him and...and that demon inside of him that our boy turned out the way he did...He made him into a monster with his...fake...fake promises and temptations...My boy...he..."
"Komori..." Kosuke Kuwana whispered.
"I know! I know he killed a lot of people, even before crossing paths with that boy. I know plenty of parents have to bear the horrible feeling of not having their children anymore! Children he killed! I know he killed all of those students..." Komori wailed, shaking her head."But...I just can't bear to hate him...He's my son...I didn't do anything for him...I could have done more for him...If only I had been a better mother..."
"We both failed him. We were too busy worrying about making sure he'd get a good education so he could be better than us..." Kosuke hugged his wife."And we didn't notice our son suffering right in front of us. If I can ask God one thing...is to let me bear the sins of my son."
"Me too...It's the least I can do...But now...What will happen to him...?"
"We have to believe in Maria-chan and the kids." Kosuke reassured her."They...know what to do. They are his family as well, after all."
"What a beautiful city..." Maria admired the city of Nanjing in all its glory as she and the others climbed down the city walls."I bet it makes for a great vacation trip."
"Yeah..." Raiden said, noticing there weren't any people around.
"Maybe we can come here on vacation whenever all of this is done-desu?" Kirika suggested.
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea." Shirabe smiled."I know we're all in need of a desperate vacation."
"You can say that again." Maria agreed, chuckling."I really want a massage. My back's been killing me lately."
"Oh, me too-desu!"
"That's because you both need to start wearing bras that are your size." Raiden remarked nonchalantly."You both have your breasts hanging loose with the bras you got. They're too big for you to wear and therefore, strain your back. No wonder it's hurting you."
"Now that you mention it..." Kirika scratched her cheek."I haven't really bought any new bras. I use Maria's."
"W-what?!" Maria gasped in shock."Kirika! Why?!"
"I can't wear Shirabe's since...well..."
Shirabe pouted, covering her chest.
"No, I mean, why don't you buy your own bras? I'm a few sizes bigger than you."
"She screwed up a couple of months ago during laundry." Raiden chortled."She had to throw them all out. And because she is who she is, she doesn't have enough money to buy new ones."
"R-Raiden! You promised you wouldn't tell!"
"Jeez..." Maria rubbed the edge of her nose."I have some spare money that Jades saved for emergencies. I'll get you new clothes, okay?"
"Thank you, Maria." The blonde hugged her older sister affectionately.
"Of course." Maria cooed, rubbing her back.
"We just have to survive today," Raiden mumbled, but Shirabe was able to hear him.
"And we will." Shirabe frowned."We can do this. We made it this far, right?"
"And Blacky-kun is fighting Loki!" Kirika beamed."He's strong! He can win!"
"We have to do our part." Maria placed a hand on Raiden's shoulder."We must concentrate on finishing things here before we can help."
"And what makes you think...you're getting out of here alive...?"
The siblings slowly turned to the source of the sinister voice coming down from the empty streets. A figure wearing a black cloak came out of the corner, looking at the ground. It was Terunosuke. Except, his hair was pitch black and his skin was completely pale with black veins covering it. And to top it off, there was a black void instead of his face.
And yet, they could tell he had an evil smile on his face. They knew him too well to be able to tell.
"Teru-nii...What...happened to you...?" Kirika muttered, horrified.
"That's not Teru-nii anymore." Maria narrowed her eyes."That's...an abomination wearing his skin."
"Now that's not any way to address your older brother, Maria." Terunosukle chuckled, a second voice speaking with his, giving it a demonic tone. He shifted his attention to them, tilted his head condescendingly."Still as stupid as always, huh? Long time no see. How about a little kiss to your older brother?"
"You're no brother of us." Raiden cooly said."Not for a long time. Especially when you killed Jades in cold blood."
"Ha! Now that's funny." Terunosuke guffawed."Look at you, still a dog of the government. Pathetic as ever. You just can't change, do you? Still hanging onto little kids's idea of a new world? Well? What about you, Little Kirika? What do you think?"
"I don't think there's anything to say to someone who sold their soul just to become a little stronger and ended up at the bottom of the barrel," Kirika muttered, her voice uncharacteristically emotionless.
"Ha...Hahaha! Look at you, acting all badass." Terunosuke scoffed."When did you get the spine? Though I guess you showed me this new side of you back when we were working with Noble Red and fought at that hospital."
"Quit the act already." Maria said sharply."You are not Teru-nii. We know Teru-nii left the Disasters after his fight with Jades. Allister told us...he felt guilty and remorseful. He went on to save Hibiki-chan's parents and help evacuate people when the Yggdrasil was taking over the world. And we also know that World War 3 started because of the secrets Allister knew. Secrets he leaked after he was captured. Just like you. You are not our brother. You're an impostor pretending to be him-"
"Still as naive as always. Sure, I got a little desperate and ran. But it was a mistake. I was running away from a golden opportunity. And I am your brother." Terunosuke showed them his Brand."This power...it's liberating. It brings out the true self. This is who I am. I was lucky enough to be selected to be one of the first ever to be rid of my Free Will...And the lord, he did answer!"
Terunosuke cackled in delight, hugging himself."We are so close to being saved. Salvation is finally upon us! The promised world is but mere moments away. It won't be long now...All this pain and misery we felt...It will finally be over. Humanity will be liberated at last. And we will rewarded with eternal peace."
"And what is it that you want? Serena?" Maria bit her lower lip.
"That's just part of it." Terunosuke said."The world for me ended when Serena's life was snatched away from her. It became worthless. So this is fitting."
"Do you think Serena wants this?" Raiden asked.
"Whether she wants it or not is irrelevant. Loki-sama deems it necessary, and we agree with it. She will understand."
"Yeah, you're not Teru-nii. Serena is everything to him. No way he-"
"You know...it's funny. There used to be so many of us back then." Terunosuke suddenly cut Raiden off abruptly."So many children in one place, from all countries in the world. It was almost like some kind of sick, boarding school. And then, from all of those kids, only 9 of us were special. The cream of the crop. Then now...all that's left is us 5. It's kind of scary how we've been reduced to this, really. We're all that's left...Because we are strong. We are better than those left behind. And now...I will leave the 4 of you behind...so that I may ascend to new heights."
Maria closed her eyes, recalling Elsa's words.
"Allister told me that the brand...made him think of dark things. Like it was showing him the darkness within him. The brand may feed on the darkness inside of a person's heart."
'If so...then this is Teru-ni...And the darkness in his heart has taken over him...'
"No...We're putting you out of your misery." Maria shook her head."You have a lot of blood on your hands. Your family can't do anything except hope their son stops and comes home. If you're serious about this...we have no choice but to stop you."
"You will die trying. But at the very least, you made it to the eve of a new tomorrow. Not many people can say that. Not even those idiots who died before us."
"How can you say that?!" Shirabe exploded in rage."Jades-nii-chan died believing in you! He loved you! Mom, and Andreas too! How can you speak of them like this?! They never once condemned you for your sins! They showed you nothing but love and died doing so!"
"But that's not my problem! So?! What of it?! I don't care if they're dead! I tried so damn hard to appease the Old Hag! To make her say she was proud of me! But she was in on it! She knew Jades had stolen my life's purpose! My opportunity! What I was fighting so hard for! To stand next to Serena and protect her!" He exclaimed, the dark aura around him pulsing."I told you this before...I only serve those who see my worth. That's why I did not hesitate to take this power! I gave up my humanity to finally feel alive and rewarded for my efforts! I AM FINALLY SOMEONE I CAN BE PROUD OF! IN THE INFERNALL ABYSS! I OBTAINED IT! POWER!"
"You obtained nothing. You forsake all of your bonds...just to become a slave...And when you finally saw the wrongs you were doing, they brought you back." Maria said solemnly."I'm sorry...But we have to take you down."
"You're wrong, Maria." Terunosuke laughed, the two red dots in his black face glowing intensely."I haven't forsaken ALL of my bonds just yet!"
From the hole in his face, several sharp tendrils emerged, heading for the former FIS quartet. They all dispersed in an instant, rushing toward Terunosuke from all sides. Kirika jumped on top of the tendrils and attempted to kick him across the face, but her brother blocked her kick with his forearm, another tendril emerging from within the void and attempting to stab her throat. Shirabe quickly pulled on the collar of her shirt, saving her life as Maria went for a right hook across Terunosuke's face, causing him to stumble to the side where Raiden received him with a nasty double kick to the face, knocking him away.
"The world is about to change! Your existence! Won't belong there!" Terunosuke bellowed, swatting them all away with his tendrils before returning them to the depths of the void, and taking out his Deck. "I thought I could just let you be. But you're like a plague! I'll have to get rid of all of you!"
"Trust us. I wish we could get rid of you!" Raiden spat back. The girls took out their pendants while both males readied their Decks as their V Buckles appeared around their waists.
"Henshin!"
"Various Shul Shagana Tron..."
"Seilen Coffin Airgetlam Tron..."
"Zeious Igalima Raizen Tron..."
(Play Cutting Edge×2 Ready Go!)
Gai leaped into the air, immediately tossing a card into his visor as he landed on a rooftop.
Strike Vent: Metal Horn
"Maria! Shirabe! Kirika! Raiden! Let's enjoy ourselves! For this is the day when our paths finally end!" Gai cackled maniacally."DIE WITH ME, MY SIBLINGS! YOU'RE COMING TO HELL WITH ME!"
Kirika did not let herself be provoked, instead, focused on the task at hand. She slammed her scythe on the ground, using it as a pole to propel herself in the air. Shirabe used her yo-yos to grab the scythe, throwing it back to her hands as her thrusters ignited. He easily parried her scythe, grabbing her arm and slamming her on the ground. Or so he would, but a whip wrapped around her ankle, pulling her back to safety.
Swing Vent: Evilwhip
Maria came from behind, throwing several daggers from her gauntlet at Gai, who merely used his Metal Horn to parry them away.
Infinite Crime
'His ultimate defense...Our attacks can't break it so easily.' Maria frowned, jumping away from the rooftop.'But it doesn't cover much.'
Gai looked up, noticing Raia flying on top of Evildiver, closing his visor after sliding a card in.
Shoot Vent: Evil Launcher
From his grenade launcher, Raia began shooting grenades in the shape of purple eggs, blowing the whole building apart and causing it to crumble.
"Already resorting to this? You just destroyed someone's house, you know?!"
Hop Vent
Raia gasped, looking behind him to see Terunosuke had used Imperer's springs to launch himself into the sky as the explosions went off. He was about to attack Raia, but Maria's bladed whip wrapped around his arm, preventing him from doing so.
"I won't let you hurt him!"
"Fine, you annoying bitch! Then you'll die first!"
Shoot Vent: Metal Gun
Aiming his one-barrel shotgun at Maria, Gai prepared himself to shoot, until several chains wrapped around his body, courtesy of Kirika. Shirabe used her buzzsaws to cut his gun to pieces before he was slammed into the ground.
"Tch...crafty little fuckers, aren't you?" He grimaced as Maria, who had jumped into the air and was gliding on top of Evildiver with Raia, shot a beam of energy from her gauntlet.
HORIZON†CANNON
Gai further enhanced himself with his Divine Power, causing skeletal wings to sprout out, destroying his confines, and allowing him to draw a card, tossing it to his visor.
Freeze Vent
The beam of energy turned to ice before it could hit him, reaching the sky. Wasting no time, he activated another card, using his springs to jump into the air and flapping his wings to accelerate further.
Strike Vent: Destclaws
Gai screamed in utter bliss as he went to slice Raia's neck. But Maria pushed him out of the way, resulting in the claws slicing her left eye open and blinding her from one eye. She screamed in agony only to receive a kick to the face, launching her into the city wall. From the whole she left, water began to pour into the streets of the city.
"MARIA!" Raia yelled, horrified.
"I guess it's true what they say. Love is blind. How funny it is that the power of the man she loved is what's going to cause your death!" Gai smacked Raia away, causing him to fall on top of a rooftop, and chased after him.
Several buzzsaws were fired from the ground, prompting Gai to swat them away with his claws."You don't know when to stay down, do you, Shirabe?!"
Advent: Destwilder
(Song End)
As Shirabe skated to where they were heading, Destwilder lunged at her, pinning her on the ground. Fortunately, she had been able to put her armored twin-tails between her and the beast as it started to pounce on them.
"D-Destwilder! It's me! Don't you recognize me?!" Shirabe closed her eyes as the beasts continued to try and break her twin tails. Destwilder was not listening, completely being in Terunosuke's control.
"I'm sorry, Desuwilder!" Kirika yelled as she kicked the tiger away from Shirabe."Are you okay, Shirabe?!"
"Y-yes...Thank you, Kiri-chan..." Shirabe smiled at the blonde.
"Very nice, girls! You're still alive!" Gai clapped derisively."So are you going to surrender? Or should I give you a proper spanking?"
Shirabe clicked her tongue, lashing out her yo-yos as they became larger toward the rhino-themed Rider.
Beta Style: Massive Tri-Circle
"Spanking it is." He smirked, slapping the attacks away with his claws."I'll give you the beating the old lady never gave you."
Final Vent: Drive Divider
Gigazelle appeared on top of a light post, raising his arm in the air and commanding the Gazelles to chase after the girls.
"Oh, no!" Kirika gasped.
Shirabe quickly scooped Kirika in her arms, combining her armed gears and forming a giant wheel.
Extreme Sigma Style: Forbidden Full Moon
Shirabe accelerated, driving her giant mono wheel away as the Zelles chased them through the streets.
"And now..." Gai shifted his attention to the ground, where Raia was."Just you and me."
He gritted his teeth, sliding a card into his Deck.
Copy Vent
Choosing Kirika's Armed Gear to copy, he rushed toward Gai.
Gai chuckled, meeting Raia in the middle as their weapons clashed. Raia thanked Kirika in his mind for teaching him how to maneuver around a pole as gracefully as she did. It was working out, forcing Gai on the defensive with his consecutive strikes. Whenever he missed his mark with his scythe, he lifted himself off the ground and tried kicking the rhino Rider, not allowing him a moment to rest.
In contrast to him, Gai hadn't trained on using Tiger's claws. His movements were linear and predictable. Nothing compared to Jades' natural control. In one of those instances, Raia kicked him in the face, causing him to stagger back.
"You damn brat!" Gai swung his claws down, but Raia jumped back, kicking him in the chin."Bastard!"
Raia backflipped away, gaining some distance before drawing a card from his Deck.
Sword Vent: Mind Slayer
A pair of purple daggers were equipped in Raia's hand, radiating a golden aura.
"Divine Weapons...Do you think I'll let you use that?!"
Confine Vent
As soon as his weapons appeared, they vanished. But to Gai's surprise, Raia just activated another ability.
Final Vent: Hide Venom
Jumping on top of Evildiver, Raia accelerated toward Gai at full speed.
"Please. As if this can take me out." Gaia readied himself, spreading his arms to slash Raia as soon as he approached him.
To his surprise, Raia completely avoided him, leaving him dumbfounded.
(Play Happy Birthday no Uta by Ai Kayano(Kirika's voice actress )
Author's note: I was going to use Kirika's song in XV, but this one ended up convincing me since it's really good. I recommend you to listen to it. In fact, I'll be using the secondary songs the girls have in XV to mix things up.)
Kirika started to sing, making a replica of her scythe and tearing the Zelles that appeared on their sides. Shirabe concentrated on ramming into them, slicing them apart with her giant monowheel. Shirabe took a sharp left, coming face to face with a crowd of Zelles coming her way. However, Raia completely mowed them down with his Final Vent, clearing a path for them.
"Thank you, Raiden!" Shirabe yelled to her brother.
"Go for it! There is nothing you two can't do together!" He cried out.
Kirika smiled at him for a moment before going back to focus on the task at hand. They climbed up a building heading to the very top.
"And where do you think you're going?" Gai growled, tossing a card to his visor.
Metal Vent
Gai stomped on the ground, creating several metal spikes that began making their way to the girls as they destroyed everything in their path. Shirabe's monowheel started to hop from building to building as they were destroyed by the spikes.
Kirika lashed out her cables, making a makeshift bridge between a building they were on and a smaller one. They descended down before they were forced to jump back to the ground after a spike destroyed the cables.
"Kiri-chan!"
She nodded.
Shirabe undid her monowheel, as she threw Kirika forward using her armored twin-tails. Kirika ignited her thrusters, accelerating her speed, skidding on the concrete and tearing it to pieces as she began twirling her scythe in anticipation. Shirabe had equipped some of her Armed Gear to her scythe, making it a double-edged scythe with two different colors.
"Coming straight for me, huh? How bold of you." Gai began dashing toward Kirika, spreading his arms."Then show me what you got, you little bitch!"
Kirika and Gai roared at the top of their lungs as they passed each other in the blink of an eye after swinging their respective weapons, blood splattering on the ground. Kirika stopped singing, blood pouring down her face as three gashes appeared on the side of her face.
Gai gasped, blood coming out of the laceration on his neck. He grabbed at his wound, dropping to one knee as Kirika continued singing, his claws breaking to pieces.
'What...? What was that speed just now...?' Gai spat out blood, starstruck at Kirika's attack.'When did she even hit me...?'
He looked behind him, his eyes widening upon seeing Kirika's cold glare."Too slow."
"You...You insolent bitch!" Gai forced himself back to his feet but noticed Shirabe closing in on him, using her skirt as a buzzsaw as she lunged at him. Gai leaped back, avoiding her attack, landing in the middle of Raia's trajectory as he rode on top of Evildiver.
'Shit...I can't afford to take that attack head-on right now...I need to recuperate.' Gai had no choice but to waste another one of his abilities.
Confine Vent
Evildiver disappeared underneath Raia's feet. But before he fell to the ground, he pulled onto his Evilwhip.
'He's pulling something...?' Gai blinked.
To his utter shock, Raia hurled Maria with his whip as the woman concentrated her Phonic Gain on her gauntlet. She was gritting her teeth and her destroyed eye had been wrapped in cloth to stop the bleeding.
'Maria! She can still fight?!' Gai attempted to go for his Deck, but he wouldn't activate an ability in time. Instead, he tried flapping his wings, but Shirabe skated by, slicing them off with her buzzsaws, preventing him from taking off into the air."Shirabe! You were-"
Maria was already in front of Gai, thrusting her arm forward.
"SHIT-" Gai couldn't finish his sentence as Maria punched him in the face, shattering his helmet with the amount of force behind her punch and bypassing his armor's durability. He was flung across the area, crashing through a few buildings until he crashed against a billboard, falling onto the ground and knocking it down.
(Song End)
"Maria!" Raia rushed to the pinkette's side.
"Raiden, are you-"
"I'm sorry!" Raia tackled her into a hug, burying his face in her chest."I'm sorry, Maria! Because of me...your eye..."
"Maria!" Both Kirika and Shirabe ran up to them, joining the group hug.
Maria blinked with her good eye before smiling warmly at them."I'm your big sister. A big sister must protect her younger siblings. Raiden..."
Raiden slowly looped up, receiving a kiss on his helmet.
"An eye is a small price to pay for your safety. I would do it a thousand more times to keep you safe." She said. She kissed Kirika and Shirabe on their foreheads too."Awesome work you two. That was great coordination."
"Kirika...how did you even cut through his armor?" Raiden asked.
"The blades of Zababa." Kirika responded with a small grin."Shirabe's idea."
"We figured that the full power of Zababa would be able to bypass his defenses, debilitating him enough for Maria to punch him." Shirabe explained."Unison. It's stronger between Kiri-chan and me because of our Relic's properties."
Meanwhile, Gai stared at the clouds covering the sun in the sky, processing what just happened.
He stretched out his bloody arm, clenching it."I didn't anticipate that kind of power from that brat...She's different from before. No...I suppose that goes for all of them. They're not the idiotic kids I used to know."
He sat up, watching the smoke clear out and noticing three golden spheres in the distance and an explosion of purple energy.
'Guess there's no need to underestimate them anymore.' Gai drew two cards from his Deck.'Serena...Just a little more...Just a little more.'
Survive: Hagane
Unite Vent
Gai summoned Imperer and Tiger as the three of them entered Survive mode, their evolved beasts, Steelgelas, Terazelle, and Frostwilder merging as a huge explosion of ice completely froze the building he was in. Once his transformation, the left side of his armor resembled Imperer's and his right Tiger's. His wings regrew back in a tornado of black dust, reconstructing them.
Kamen Rider Gai - Trinity Survive Mode
"He's coming." Maria alerted them. The girls were clad in their Amalgam forms while Raia had entered his Oversurvive form. Shirabe took a deep breath before she started to sing, taking the lead of their charge.
(Kimi ga Nakanai Sekai ni by Yoshino Nanjo(Shirabe's voice actress)
Iron Spiral Blizzard Vent
Suddenly, a wave of ice began covering the streets of the city, approaching them. Unlike Jades' ice, Terunosuke's ice was pitch black, and iron-sand spikes emerged from them in the shape of drills.
"Spread out!" Maria screamed as everyone dispersed, going up buildings to get high ground.
Kirika gasped when the building she was on broke, forcing her to jump away before she was hit with the spikes. Kirika stabbed her scythe against the side of a building descending to the ground. She yelped when the wall froze, nearly freezing her arm and forcing her to jump off. A spike emerged from the ground, heading straight for her.
Kirika used the rockets on her pauldrons to spin at high speeds, tearing through the ice spikes gracefully.
Calamity Ring: Tinkerbell
She leaped into the air before blasting her thrusters, twirling her side as she headed for Gai. Gai stomped the ground, producing a drill from the ground, forcing Kirika to leap away to avoid being skewered.
Meanwhile, Shirabe skated on the ice, using her speed and agility to dodge the spikes forming on the ground around her. A few of them appeared on her sides and front, forcing her to swing her shield yo-yo and cut them to pieces. She skated up a spike, hopping into the air as her shield transformed into a robot version of herself. The robot went ahead of Shirabe, protecting her from the spikes Shirabe leaped into a building, skating against the walls before hurling her shield yo-yo at Gai. He drew a card, inserting it into his visor, which was a battle axe with a drill at the top.
Strike Vent: Steelhorn
An evolved version of Metalhorn was trapped to his arm, having two horns instead of one and being bulkier.
He blocked the attack with ease as Shirabe jumped in the middle of the street in front of him, skating toward him.
"Come. I won't fall for the same trick again!" He went for a thrust, but Shirabe arched her back, grabbing onto his arm and going between his legs.
She made a copy of her Armed Gear, combing her shield yo-yos as they revved to life, slamming them against his back. However, a chuckle from Gai and the lack of damage alarmed Shirabe enough to take a step back.
"Do you think a weak attack like that..." He stomped the ground, a drill emerging from beneath Shirabe."...will work!?"
Shirabe used her flexibility to arch her back as much as she could, watching as the drill almost grazed her chest. She jumped back, proceeding to skate away to gain some distance.
'Our attacks aren't even working on him anymore...' Shirabe frowned.'His toughness is too great...But he's keeping us separated so Kiri-chan and I can't use Unison...'
"Just to be extra careful so you two don't pull off another one of your little moves..." Gai drew a card from his Deck, immediately activating it.
Advent: Totality Bondbreaker
Final Vent: Armageddon
The fused version of Steelgelas, Frostwilder, and Terazelle emerged. It was as big as a small building, standing around 15 meters. It had six arms. Two held spears, two were equipped with claws and two with horns. It also had several eyes around its head, and two large horns alongside a set of razor-sharp teeth around its belly. Bondbreaker grumbled, its belly opening up, and began to spit out Zelle monsters from inside. Though these looked different. Instead of gazelles, they looked like rhinoceros with long legs and horns with sharp claws. They immediately began hopping around, surrounding the area in a heartbeat. Kirika and Shirabe were forced to focus on the Zelles, preventing them from coming together while Gai focused on his remaining foes.
Gai noticed Raia's shining form in the sky, as several crystals appeared around him before firing beams of energy from them.
"You want to know what's your problem, Raiden?" He stomped the ground, casting a wall of black ice to block the projectiles as he drew a new card."You're too impulsive. You get too desperate too fast."
Shoot Vent: Frost Bazooka
An armed cannon equipped itself to Gai's free arm and he wasted no time in unloading the barrage of missiles within. The missiles chased Raia, who flew around the city with his energy wings. He broke into a school, running down the empty halls while missiles began exploding behind him. Suddenly, the walls exploded after two arms of ice crushed them to pieces. From outside, Gai was hopping using his newly improved springs, aiming his index finger at Raia and shooting a spiral from it.
He quickly drew a card and scanned it on his visor, drawing out his evolved bow.
Shoot Vent: Breaker Arrow
He immediately manifested a psychic arrow, shooting at the spiral and causing it to disperse, heading for Gai. He took the arrow to the chest, making it explode and launching him onto a wall. But he used this to charge up his springs and jumped toward Raia, tackling him through a few buildings before grabbing him by the face and hurling him away into another building. This time a bank. Gai ran after his brother, activating a second ability.
Spin Vent: Terazellestab
However, as he ran passed a corridor, he was met with Maria, holding out her dragon gauntlet at him.
'Where did she...?'
Maria wasted no time and shot a mix of fire and wind at him, knocking him through the wall and down to the floor below.
'So she can use fire and wind now...It seems all of you have grown. Colored me impressed.' He smirked as Maria landed in front of him, kicking the ground and lunging at him. He thrust his spear forward, but Maria dodged it at the last second, grabbing onto his arm. Gai was flabbergasted when he felt himself being lifted off the ground as Maria threw him over her shoulder, slamming him on the ground and breaking the ground beneath them, destroying several floors until they reached the bottom of the building.
"You stupid whore!" Gai snarled, immediately jumping back to his feet, dashing toward Maria as he winded his Steelhorn back.
Trick Vent: Psychic Lock(Credits to Ryugen)
Purple chains wrapped themselves around Gai's legs, preventing him from moving."W-what is this?!"
Raia came down from the hole in the ceiling, scanning another card into his visor.
Sword Vent: Breakerblade
His bow turned into a long double-edged sword, swinging it down and forcing Gai to parry it with his Steelhorn."You haven't noticed?! I am special! I was born special!"
Maria came from the side, her gauntlet taking the shape of a blade and going to a stab. Gai's armor blocked the impact, but wind and fire began surrounding the sword, slowly but surely making a dent in his armor."I am more special than any of you! All of you!"
Suddenly, Kirika and Shirabe came from the outside after outspeeding the Zelles, swinging their weapons at Gai. Everyone began to attack Gai simultaneously from all angles, taking advantage of his slowness to do as much damage as possible. His armor began to crack in some areas that were being hit repeatedly.
"I AM THE CHOSEN ONE! AND I WILL KILL YOU ALL! LIKE I KILLED THE REST OF THEM! YOU ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO ME!" Gai bellowed at the top of his lungs, casting dragons of ice from underneath them. All of them were launched away by the dragon heads as the building froze in solid ice.
"And despite that...I was never recognized...All my hard work stolen...belittled...No more...I am taking back what I deserve! My position at the top! I will force all of you down to your knees before me!"
(Song End)
The Zelles wasted no time in crowding the streets more, surrounding them from all angles.
"There's too many of them..." Maria grimaced as they were back to back, covering each other's blind spots.
"I have an idea." Shirabe said."But I'm going to need someone to deal with all these monsters. We have to get close to Teru-nii."
"If we want to get rid of them, first, we need to stop the monster that's creating them." Maria pointed out."Raiden. You and me."
"Right. That leaves you two to distract Teru-nii. But Shirabe, what do you have in mind?" Raiden asked the youngest girl.
"We need to reduce the ground he can work with and separate him from the Zelles. If we can get him in one spot where he can't move..."
"Okay..." Maria nodded."We'll leave it to you. We'll do our part of the job. Just be careful, you two."
The group split into two, going in different directions. Maria and Raiden headed for the Zelles and Totality Bondbreaker while the Zababa duo rushed toward Gai.
(Play Kono Ima wo Ikiru Hikari by Yoko Hikasa (Maria's voice actress)
Maria and Raia jumped back to the streets, facing off against the countless Zelles covering the entire area. They quickly went to work, mowing down through the army of them in unison while approaching Bondbreaker. Maria summoned several dragon daggers from her gauntlet, hurling them toward the monsters before leaping into the air. Bondbreaker batted them away with its large hands, noticing Raia flying in the sky, glowing immediately before shooting countless energy beams from his crystals, killing off a huge chunk of the Zelles before activating another ability.
Final Vent: Psychic Breaker
Evilbreaker appeared in the sky as Raia landed on top of it. They both were engulfed by a purple aura, summoning hundreds of purple orbs that began shooting beams of energy that the remaining Zelles while he rocketed toward the beast, ramming into it and causing it to howl in pain before disappearing. The remaining Zelles died from the attacks. Maria was killing the ones that were trying to get to Shirabe and Kirika as they fought Terunosuke.
"Is this your new attempt?" Gai scoffed, raising his Terazellestab."Splitting up?!"
Shiirabe met Gai face to face as he slammed his Steelhorn against her shield. The girl winced by the force but remained steadfast. She maneuvered around his arm and went for a spiral kick to his face, which did no damage.
"Seriously?" He scoffed."I already told you, you are nothing compared to me!"
Kirika leaped into the air, swinging her triple-edged scythe down, and forcing Gai to take a step back. However, she used her momentum and agility to flip over him, taking her scythe with her and slashing his back, earning a hiss from him.
"You think you're being cute?!" He swung his Steelhorn as Kirika leaped out of the way, missing his mark."Always so damn weak! So sentimental! Fighting for the wrong things!"
"And when did you start fighting for the wrong things?!" Shirabe spun around, hurling her shield yo-yo toward him, but the attack bounced off his armor."When did the Teru-nii-chan we know become complacent in being on the lower end of the totem pole?!"
"What do you know?! What do you know about me?!" Gai stomped the ground, forming several black ice drills from the ground, forcing Shirabe to retreat.
'Shirabe...What are you trying to do...?' Kirika pondered.
"I know how stubborn and proud you are." Shirabe stated."And I know that you wouldn't let yourself be controlled like this. You're not like this. You are strict...and a big jerk. But you were the one who protected me when I first got to FIS. You probably didn't notice, but I always kept an eye out when you were watching over me. I admired you!"
"What? What are you saying-"
"You always worked so hard. And I know how you feel. You feel like your efforts were never important. But to Serena, it meant the world. To us, it gave us inspiration. It inspired me to continue on and never give up."
Gai growled."You have no idea what kind of shit I've been through! You don't know what it feels like for the thing you worked so hard for to vanish right in front of your face! For everyone to lie to you and pretend everything is fine!" He kicked the ground, using his springs to propel himself toward Shirabe, tackling her into a wall."I rot away for years! Studying my ass off! Completely alone! Trying to be recognized for who I am! For my value! And no one ever batted an eye!"
He grabbed her head, hurling her across the street. Kirika leaped into action, using her thrusters to accelerate her speed and slam her scythe against his back, causing him to stumble forward."All because I was denied of my destiny!"
Gai threw his spear toward the blonde, who narrowly avoided it. But this was a distraction as he shot an energy spiral from his fingers, hitting her in the stomach and launching her into the sky."The hag knew...Dr. Ver knew. Jades fucking knew. And no one ever told me a goddamn thing!"
Shoot Vent: Frost Blaster
He shot his blaster at the ground, skating on the ice that his gun spewed.
"But Mom only wanted to-"
"Wanted to what?! Lie to me!" He leaped in the air, shooting ice at Kirika and freezing her scythe, receiving a kick to her gut."She did nothing! Absolutely nothing as I trained near to death! She filled my head with dreams! Forced me to train until my bones broke! She denied me of my DESTINY!"
"She protected you!" Shirabe suddenly latched onto his back. Gai tried to grab her, but his arms were unable to reach her body."And so did Jades-nii-chan! He died loving you! You love him too!"
"Lies! All of you...left me alone!" He jumped back and slammed his body against the wall, earning a pained cry from Shirabe."All of you abandoned me! I had nothing! And you call that protecting me?!"
He went through several walls until Shirabe couldn't hold on anymore, releasing him. He slammed her head against the ground, watching as blood started to pour from a gash on the back of her head."We...we care...we..."
"Just shut up and die!" He raised his foot, aiming toward her head. However, Raia tackled him away, going into a hospital and landing in the hallways."You...Raiden!"
Raiden scanned a card, quickly summoning a ring of crystals that began rotating. Maria appeared from far back, shooting a beam of fire and wind.
Gai quickly activated another card, causing the whole hospital to start shaking.
Shatter Vent
Suddenly all of their weapons disappeared from them, leaving them completely defenseless. Gai tossed his Steelhorn to the ground, drawing another card from his Deck.
Strike Vent: Frost Stripes
Blue stripes were equipped to Gai's armor, sprouting out like sharp blades."I'm going to mince you to bits!"
He used his springs to lunge at them, spinning around at high speeds, mimicking a turbine.
Raia slid a card into his Deck, and suddenly another rumbling shocked the hospital, causing it to start collapsing. Gaia's, springs and stripes disappeared, causing him to drop to the ground.
Copy Vent
'W-what?! He copied my Shatter Vent?!'
Suddenly, he received two kicks to the chin, courtesy of Maria and Raiden, sending him skidding across the floor.
"Hold them right there!" Shirabe took a deep breath, summoning a replica of her armed gear. She began swinging her yo-yos rapidly, her arms moving in a blur and creating a makeshift cage that constantly changed, preventing Gai from leaving. Maria and Raiden dashed toward Gai, proceeding to punch and kick him from all angles. Their objective was to prevent him from activating a card. They would occasionally push him a little, forcing him to touch Shirabe's strings which would electrocute him.
"I'm so sick and tired of you!" Gai swung his fist, but Maria easily dodged, attempting to throw him over her shoulder. This time, kneed her on her back, knocking her to the ground, and noticing Raia was drawing a card from his Deck and activating it.
Strike Vent: Mind Slayer
Summoning his twin sickles, Raia narrowed his eyes toward Gai before running toward him, his body glowing in purple.
"Letting up your onslaught for a second is your worst mistake!" Gai screamed, summoning his visor as he reached for his Deck, drawing a card. Out of nowhere, a sharp object flew toward him, impaling his hand and forcing him to drop the card. It was Kirika, who had detached one of the blades of her scythe and chucked it from afar."KIRIKA-"
However, Gai couldn't finish his scream as Raia appeared in front of him, swinging his Divine Weapons and making an X on his armor, blood splattering from the wound. He unleashed the energy he had been charging, summoning his crystals before unleashing a volley of energy beams, shooting Gai out of the building. From his wound, blood continued to pour out, but also his Divine Power after Raia's Divine Weapons slashed at his body, causing it to start leaking.
(Song End)
"I...I can't be...I can't be defeated here...Not by those brats...! I AM A DEMIGOD! I WON'T FALL TO YOU! NOT YET!"
His wings started to flap faster, taking him higher into the sky.
"Maria, are you okay?!" Raia quickly rushed to her side, dropping to his knees to examine her.
"Yeah...I'm fine." She winked in an attempt to reassure him. Or at least, that's what Raiden thought due to her missing an eye."How's Shirabe...?"
"I'm fine too...Just sore." Shirabe responded as Kirika helped her walk. She was wheezing, no doubt exhausted at the amount of energy and effort she used in making the cage."And your arm, Kiri-chan...?"
"Well..." Kirika glanced down at her arm, which had lost its color."I can't feel it all that well. But I can move it. I managed to get the ice off but I took too long. It's still cold. Shirabe, what were you trying to do just now? When you were talking to Teru-nii while fighting him?"
"I...I wanted to at least try to reach his heart. Because he's the same as I was back then."
"What do you mean?" Maria frowned.
"He built walls around his heart. Tough, iron walls were the only thing keeping him safe in his mind. But, instead of using them to protect others, he secluded himself within them. He's not even honest to himself about his own emotions." Her expression became crestfallen."I think...Jades-nii-chan was trying to breach them and reach him...But he couldn't. I believe he entrusted us to finish the task."
"You really think so?" Raiden pursed his lips.
"He said we left him behind. He must have felt alone." Shirabe closed her eyes."And...I think...He speaks the truth."
"Shirabe!" Kirika gasped.
"Think about it for a second." Shirabe said."He willingly got kidnapped for FIS to get away from his life. And yes, I know his parents did the best for him. But they were too busy working to pay proper attention to him. He must have felt alone all by himself as if no one wanted him around. He wanted to become a Rider because he loved Serena and wanted to protect her. Serena was the only person who ever appreciated his efforts. The rest of us...We were too intimidated by him or didn't like the way he behaved. He trained so hard to become a Rider, never knowing the truth. He must have thought that he wasn't good enough. That's how he's lived his life until now. Always felt like he was inadequate, especially after what happened to Serena. Think about how long it took us to get back into society. It was hard. Sometimes it still is. And we had each other. Imagine what must have felt for him, being all alone, without anyone being able to understand what he felt. I guess..that must have caused him to snap. And eventually, the darkness in his heart became too strong for him to contain. What we see today is the best proof. Jades-nii-chan must have realized this and attempted to reach his heart. Because no matter what...we're all siblings. Despite everything he's done...and the people he's killed...he's our brother."
"Shirabe..." Maria muttered under her breath, astonished at her words. Kirika was silent, studying Shirabe's complex expression
Raiden slowly made his way toward the hole in the wall, staring at the sky."What is he doing...?"
Gai was floating above the city, panting heavily."You...You will not beat me! I am better! I am better! I...I AM!"
He held a card out and they could see it glow from down on the ground.
"What is he planning now? Shouldn't the Divine Power have been weakened after being hit with a Divine Weapon?" Maria wondered.
"It should have worked...It did when Jades used it. It should work as long as he doesn't..." The realization suddenly hit Raiden like a bag of bricks."KIRIKA! BRING SHIRABE HERE, NOW! MARIA!"
They did not question him and did as he told them. They scanned a card through his visor.
Psychic Vent
He put up a giant barrier around them, preparing for the worst. For the worst did come.
"I sacrifice."
Zone Vent: Mourning Frost
A giant explosion of ice erupted from where Gai was, creating a giant tree of pure ice as the gigantic avalanche that formed from it covered the entire city, covering it in snow and ice, freezing the whole city.
(Basically, he pulled a Rukia Bankai here lol)
"You need to study hard, Terunosuke. So you can get into a good school and get a high-paying job." Komori said, finishing adjusting Terunosuke's tie of his school uniform before sending him on his first day of school.
"That's right. I was meant to be the best of the best." Terunosuke watched as his younger self sat in a classroom, reading his book while all the other kids played around."We barely had enough money to scrape by. So my parents had to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. I was supposed to be the one to get us out of that. But..."
"You are good enough, Terunosuke," Maria said. The scene changed to both Serena and Terunosuke sitting on the ground after training."You need to stop being so hard on yourself."
"But I have to keep working hard, Serena. I want to be a Rider...I'm so close. I can feel it."
"Well...Even if you say that...for me, you're perfect just the way you are."
After Terunosuke came back from FIS, it was obvious he had changed. He would spend all the time inside of his room, curled up on his bed. His grades had dropped considerably, and his mental state. All he could do was stare at the Gai Deck in his hands. And hear the occasional argument his parents would have.
"We need to take him to a psychiatrist, Kosuke! Why can't you understand that?!" His mom screamed at the top of her lungs."He's not okay!"
"We can't afford it, Komori! That's why! Plus, he's okay. He's strong. He just needs some time to-"
"Time!? He hasn't gone to school! His teachers contacted me that he's so close to failing his grade! He's going to fall behind and this is going to leave a mark on his record! Do you know what that means?!"
"Komori, listen-"
"ALL OF OUR WORK WILL GO DOWN THE DRAIN!"
Terunosuke's eyes shot wide open upon hearing that, tightening the grip on his Deck. His Deck resonated with him for the first time.
"Ever since I heard that...I felt obligated to strive to be better. I had to be." Terunosuke watched as his younger self grew over the years inside different classrooms.
"Hey, you."
The younger Terunosuke looked up from his notebook to see a group of boys and girls circling him during lunch.
"What's up with you? Glued to that book all day long?" A girl scoffed."That's all you ever do. You don't even talk to anyone around you, you weirdo."
Terunosuke said nothing.
"What? Do you think you're better than us just because of your grades? Please." A tall boy said, knocking the book out of his hands."No one likes a loser like you."
"Yeah, you tell him, Juzo." Another boy said, grabbing Terunosuke's lunch and handing it to the leader. Juzo smashed the lunch tray on Terunosuke's face.
"You look better already, freak. A lot better."
Their cruel laughter echoed inside Terunosuke's skull. To the day he decided to cross the line.
"That day...I felt alive."
Terunosuke grinned maniacally, holding one of the girl's faces as he held her over the rooftop's edge, Metalgelas waiting patiently down below, ready to devour."This world is shit! And I am the one who will make it better in my favor!"
Everything changed to the day Terunosuke met Jades and the others after so many years of being apart.
"You are a very capable person," Jades said.
"You're a damn eyesore." Terunosuke thought.
"I'm sure you're doing great things with your life."
"What do you know about me?!"
"We love you."
"Get out of my sight!"
Terunosuke then saw Jades back when they fought. He looked behind him, noticing the DDV behind him, their backs to him. He was the last of them.
"It doesn't matter anymore...Everything...I will destroy everything. I don't give a damn anymore. Only I care about myself...I...I..."
Raia's barrier floated above the icy streets, noticing the giant behemoth that towered over any structure of the city.
Null made his presence known, standing over 120 meters tall, his body covered in grey armor, and having two extra arms in the form of cannons as his face.
(Look inspired by Tatara's Kakuja from Tokyo Ghoul)
"He turned into a Divine Weapon, like Chiaki Nakahara did..." Raia shivered.
"It's so cold! Why?! Shouldn't our armors be able to protect us from the cold-desu?!" Kirika said, trembling.
"It's his Zone Vent." Maria said, feeling her eyelids becoming frozen."The closer we get to the epicenter, the colder it will become.
"We have to stop him!" Shirabe yelled, feeling her right hand becoming more stiff by the second."We have to save him!"
"And we will. But-"
Suddenly, Null aimed his face cannon at them and shot a beam of energy, creating a huge explosion that shocked the buildings around them.
Inside the giant avatar, Terunosuke's body began to sink into the abyss."Serena..."
Null roared, using his arm cannons to start destroying the ice city, each step he took creating earthquakes.
From the dust, the 3 girls were clad in the X-Drive Burning forms, accompanied by Raia.
"We don't have a lot of power left...and forcing an X-Drive transformation in our current conditions is very strenuous..." Maria grimaced.
"I also don't have a lot of power left. So let's make this count!" Raia cried out as they charged toward the giant.
Maria summed her two Armed Gears. A purple blade on her left and a dagger on her right, using her speed to go for the legs and slash at them. To her shock, her attacks bounced off of the beast. Her right dagger began to glow, swinging it down and shooting a silver slash of energy.
WHITE†GLOW
The attack bounced off once more, but this time, hitting Maria and launching her away. Shirabe used her new Armed Gear, two buzzsaws in the shape of large rings, summoning a dozen energy rings around her as Kirika swung her scythe, launching a slash of green energy. Raia finished charging his crystals, shooting countless beams at the monster. The attacks created a huge explosion, but once more, did nothing. The giant aimed his cannons at them, shooting two large beams of energy. They managed to get away, but the shockwave was strong enough to send them crashing through buildings. Using the cannon in his head, Null shot a large beam of energy around him, creating a large hole in the city.
"Is everyone okay?!" Maria asked.
"Yeah..." Shirabe winced, rubbing her head.
"Teru-nii is coming this way again!" Kirika pointed in the distance as the giant slowly started to walk. Suddenly, Null began to shrink in size, going from 120 meters to 60 meters.
"He shrunk...?" Raiden narrowed his eyes. Out of nowhere, Null curled up in a ball, spikes forming around him as he began to accelerate, heading toward them as he destroyed everything in its path.
"He sacrificed size to gain speed! Everyone, move!"
All siblings flew out of the way as the wrecking ball went past them, circling the city before heading back.
"We got to stop him now," Raiden said.
"Sure. But how?" Maria inquired.
"Let's work together and combine our powers." Raia drew a card from his Deck."Even if it's just us 4, we can make something happen."
They all nodded before starting to sing as Raia activated an ability.
Co-Link Vent
(Play "Arigatō" wo Utai Nagara)
Nul stopped, standing back on his feet as he noticed an intense glow of power in the distance. What he saw now was a robot wielding two large buzzsaws in the shape of rings hovering above the ground.
Forbidden End Final Omega Style: Shining Machine†TRINITY
(This attack was used for 1 second against Shem-Ha in the anime. I wanted to bring it back since they did it for a second before it got destroyed lol)
Evilbreaker had fused with the automaton, now giving it two large wings and a tail.
"Let's go!"
The robot ignited its thrusters, heading straight for Null. The demon raised his arm, summoning several pillars of ice that threatened to impale them. However, using the rings, the robot cut through them with ease before combining them to form a scythe and twirling it around as ice monsters formed in their path. The scythe cut through them in an instant, flapping their wings to fly high into the sky, now being face to face with Null.
Null aimed his arm cannons at them, firing a volley of energy beams at them. The robot circled around the attacks, shooting psychic beams from its tail at the monster. The scythe was changed to a gauntlet, punching one of the attacks back at Null, causing it to stumble back and crash into a building.
"Now's our change!" The robot was engulfed in a purple aura, increasing the size of the gauntlet by several sizes before blasting toward Null."We have to aim at his weak and vulnerable spot! The cannon in his head!"
Null began charging a beam from his head, but suddenly he felt a small hand on his shoulder, causing him to cancel his attack.
Inside, Terunosuke saw a light above him. And he could swear he saw Serena, smiling down at him.
"That's enough, Teru-nii. You've done enough."
Null wheezed before growling, his arms going limp, allowing the siblings to go full power without fearing retaliation."Se...Re...Na..."
"WAKE UP, TERUNOSUKE!" They all screamed as they punched through Null's head.
Silent Dirge
Null fell to his knees as his body began to deteriorate, his Divine Power leaking out rapidly and undoing his transformation. He let out a howl of pain before releasing a storm of ice as he fell to the ground, shaking the city and cracking the ice he had formed.
(Song End)
A few minutes later, the former FIS siblings walked around the city, watching the ice starting to dissipate into ice dust, an indication of their triumph over Gai. They were currently looking for Terunosuke, looking around the area where the giant body of Null had been standing. After the fight, they were exhausted, returning to their normal Symphogear and Rider forms respectively due to how depleted their energy reserves were.
"Look! Over there!" Kirika pointed at the far left.
Terunosuke was leaning against a pole, the hole in his face had vanished and returned to his normal face. But his red and black eyes remained as well as his pale skin.
"Teru-nii-chan!" Shirabe jogged over to him with the others behind her.
Terunosuke stirred up, looking at his siblings standing in front of him, but keeping their distance.
"You're back to normal...I'm so glad." Shirabe beamed.
The older brother fixated his gaze on her, allowing himself a smile."Congratulations. You won. So go ahead and finish me off."
"What?" Kirika gasped.
"That's what you came here to do, right? That's what you want to do. That's...what you should do." He said dejectedly, shoulders slumping."Make it quick. I'm tired."
"We're not going to kill you." Maria shook her head, squatting in front of him."We don't want to kill you."
"What...?"
"Killing you now would accomplish nothing." Raiden chimed in."Not because we don't want to be like you. But because it wouldn't serve a purpose. Not when you want to change."
His eyes shot wide open at that.
"Hibiki-chan told us how you saved her parents when the Yggdrasil was wreaking havoc around the world. We asked around their hometown, and a lot of people reported that you saved them. You left the DDV because you want to change. Jades' words reached your heart." Maria said, her voice low but firm."He died trying to get you on the better path. And it worked. Unfortunately, they got to you before we could. And I'm sorry for that."
"And we know...that you killed countless people. But...you were alone. Somewhere down the line, your mind broke. And you thought that this was good. That it made you feel better." Kirika rubbed her still-numb arm."We should hate you. We have every right to hate you. You allowed Andreas to die..."
"But you also carried his will in your heart. You never summoned him against us." Shirabe said."You could have done it to mess with our resolve. But you never did. Not even against Jades-nii-chan. You used their powers, but you never once disrespect their emotions."
"Jades believed you can change for the better. And...maybe you hate him. But despite all of that...I'm sure he passed on with a smile knowing that his words...would sooth your broken heart." Maria stood up."We want you to live on, repenting for your sins. We want you to make amends for every person you killed. Even if it takes you your whole life. But..."
"We won't leave you alone ever again." Shirabe smiled."We'll help you. We'll carry your sins with you and show you support. You don't have to be alone again."
"We will be there every step of the way-desu!" Kirika grinned."You won't get away from us that easily."
"That's why...we won't let you die. But you have to want to get better. Be a better person. Atone for what you did from the bottom of your heart." Raiden solemnly said."You can start by helping us stop Ragnarok. What do you say?"
"But...what can I do...? I'm nothing special..."
"But you are more than special." Maria forged on, taking him by surprise."I hate to admit it, but even before you transformed into that big thing, you had us up against the wall. Your natural talent...and the ability to use different abilities to your advantage...It's amazing."
"You worked the hardest out of all of us." Kirika nodded."Honestly, I'm envious of your determination-desu."
"Your parents...Please, make up with them." Shirabe pleaded."They are sorry for how everything turned out. Your Mom said that she should have realized it sooner. She wanted you to be special...but you were always special."
"I..." Terunosuke mumbled, speechless.
"Let's get you up." Shirabe turned to the blonde girl."Kiri-chan, mind giving me a hand?"
"Sure!" Kirika smirked. Both petite girls helped Terunosuke up, wrapping his arms around their shoulders.
"We're going to go take a small break." Raiden said, removing his helmet."Then, we're going to go assist in the battle against Hazukki and Loki as we planned. You'll help us out, right Teru-nii?"
"Sure. I can't exactly refuse..." He mumbled, his head hanging low."I don't know why you're so willing to go this far from me...After everything I did to you...I tried to kill you so many times...Why...?"
"Why? I'll tell you why, Terunosuke." Maria turned around with a smile that made him remember Jades. And he could swear he saw Jades standing next to the woman he loved."Because we're siblings. And we must love each other. With no exceptions."
"No exceptions."
Terunsuke's eyes started to water, lowering his face as he started to cry silently."I'll...never understand any of you..."
The 4 of them smiled at each other, seemingly satisfied with his words.
"That's fine." Maria said as they started to walk again."But we will always have a deeper connection that will help us with that. Because we're all connected. Deep-"
"Deep inside our hearts." Terunosuke gritted his teeth in sorrow."He said that..."
"You meant a lot to him. He loved you so much. As did Serena." Maria said softly."I'm sure...this is the outcome they wanted."
"We'll be happy. We'll remember them and carry on their memories-desu." Kirika said, smiling at him.
"It'll be tough. And there might be times when you feel like you can't go on. But we'll be there to give you a push if you need one." Shirabe smiled as well.
Raiden said nothing. He didn't know what else to say. Except one thing."You didn't kill Atticus, right?"
"No...Soldiers cornered us when we were asleep. He barely reacted and got shot. We got away for a bit before he started to bleed out. He...gave me the Gai Deck and forced me to run." He explained briefly."I convinced myself I was the one who killed him. I guess the trauma got me worse than I thought it did..."
"I see..." Raiden winced."Then...I guess Andreas and Jades were right. It's a shame...If things had played differently then..."
"If things had been differently...We could have been a normal family..." Terosuke whispered, a small smile adorning his lips. He pictured all of them sitting together and enjoying a meal as a family. A reality in which all of them were alive and together.'Maybe...we can be one now...What do you think, Jades?'
"What a hopeless child. Betraying my Father again, even after he so graciously gave you another chance? For this notion of hope? Pathetic." A female voice said in his mind.
Terunosuke gasped in horror, looking over his shoulder to see a portal opening up and hands of darkness came out of it, heading towards them. He instinctively scooped Kirika and Shirabe in each of his arms, throwing them away with all his might as the arms grabbed at his body, pulling him into the portal. He managed to grab onto the edge of the portal, but felt the hands starting to pull harder at his legs, causing one of his arms to slip away."Fucking hell! No!"
Suddenly, Raia grabbed onto his hand, having wrapped Evilwhip around a light post to hold himself."Fight it, Teru-nii!"
"Let go, dumbass! You're going to get dragged in with me!" Terunosuke berated him.
"No way! Do you think I'm going to let you go that easily?! After we managed to get you back?! After what you said?! I won't do it!" He shook his head.
"Just let go! My Divine Power is drawn from the Qliphoth Tree! And the power that's trying to reclaim it and me is a lot stronger than what you can manage! I got myself into this situation! You don't need to pay for something you didn't do!"
"So what, I'm supposed to just let go?!" Raiden snapped.
"Maria! Stop gawking and pull him back! Before he-WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU IDIOTS DOING?!"
Suddenly, Maria, Kirika, and Shirabe were pulling onto Raiden, trying to help him pull Terunosuke out of the portal.
"Just...Just stop! You'll...you'll die if you continue...!"
"We won't leave you alone!" Shirabe screamed, refusing his words."Not ever again!"
"We'll protect you! Because that's what siblings do-desu!"
"We won't let Jades' sacrifice be in vain! We'll pull you out!"
Terunosuke was about to scream at them again when he felt something wet touch his face. They were tears. Tears were coming from their eyes and landing on him due to the force of the suction of the portal.
"Did you ever stop to think for even a little second why none of us ever gave up on you?! No matter what kind of shit you did?! Well, let me tell you! It was never easy, but we did it anyway! Because all of us are connected! Deep inside of hearts! Not by blood, but by our hearts! Our souls!"
He recalled Jades' words, causing endless tears to stream down his face. His left hand let go of the edge of the portal.
"T-Teru-nii?!"
"I can't do it. I can't drag you brats down to hell with me. It's not right." He shook his head."I...I never did anything for any of you as a brother. Then...let me do this. I won't let you die. So please...please live on! Show me your resolve and the world that you want to create! Please!"
"Teru-nii, stop-"
Terunosuke's left arm glowed in purple before he used it to cut off his right arm, finally entering the portal and going into Helheim where an army of demons waited for him down below, eyeing him like hungry predators. He drew two cards from his Deck, quickly tossing them outside of the portal before it closed completely. The last thing he saw on the outside was the sorrowful faces of his siblings as they cried for him. His Deck was absorbed by a purple void, preventing him from fighting back. Not like he had the energy to do so anyway.
'Yeah...I lived a very bad life. But...I hope that they can do better than me. They showed me the love I always wanted. They didn't abandon me. I was the one who stayed behind. But I finally see it.' Terunosuke closed his eyes as a beast opened its jaws, ready to tear him to pieces."They loved me. And I loved them."
Terunosuke waited for the brief pain he would no doubt feel of the teeth of the beast tearing him apart. And waited. And waited. He slowly opened his eyes, finding himself in a blue void of emptiness.
"I...died? Am I dead?" He blinked, examining himself. He still had his demonic appearance, feeling his horns."Yeah...I'm probably in hell or something. Or a limbo."
He laid on the ground, closing his eyes."I hope those kids are okay, though...They have to be. They deserve it."
"All this time, I've been chasing a pointless task. I was upset that my purpose for living was denied in front of my face. But that was never the case. I wanted that because I wanted to protect Serena. Somewhere, I ended up losing sight of who I was. And I became a monster. In the end...the one thing I ever needed was them. If only I could have realized that sooner." He chuckled bitterly, covering his eyes."I've lived a pretty worthless life. I'm so damn worthless..."
"You're not worthless."
Terunosuke immediately sat up. Despite the years, he never forgot that voice. It was Serena, standing a few meters away from him, hands in front of her.
"Serena..." He mumbled in disbelief."It's...you...?"
"Yes. It's me." Serena smiled."I've been watching over you this whole time, Teru-nii."
"Serena...Serena..." Terunosuke got on his hands and knees as he wailed."I'm so sorry, Serena! I...I did a lot of horrible things using you as an excuse! I took my anger out on the world because I lost you! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry...! I'm so...sorry..."
"Teru-nii...please, raise your head."
Terunosuke slowly raised his head, his body having returned to his human self.
"I...I am upset. Very upset at everything you did. I should not even be speaking to you right now. But...my love for you...it never disappeared. I know how much it hurt. I know how much you were hurting. Whenever you cried, I cried. I was with you. Always. I wanted to heal your wounds. To soothe your aching heart. And I was so sad how everything turned out. So...I can't hate you. I could never hate you. So...please, don't say you're worthless. You did what you could. You tried your hardest for me...But you strayed off the right path. Jades-nii-chan fought so hard to get you back on it. And I'm glad you were willing to atone for what you did, even if you didn't get the chance. I...I love you."
Terunosuke couldn't help but cry louder, covering his face as he released his pain.
"Terunosuke. If only I had been honest with you as well."
The young man looked up to see Nastassja, Atticus, and Andreas.
"If only I had told you the truth...Instead, I pretended I didn't see. I left that gruesome task of lying to Jades." Nastassja lamented, lowered her head."I should have told you the truth, even if it hurt. I should have told you how proud I was of you, my son. That your efforts were never in vain."
"Old Hag..." Terunosuke whispered.
"I'm just glad you lived." Atticus said, rubbing his nape."I was afraid that the soldiers would have gotten you. I'm glad you lived..."
"Atticus..."
"I knew you were a good guy deep inside!" Andreas beamed with a wide smile."I just knew it! I'm so happy I was right!"
"Andreas..." Terunosuke glanced around.'Jades isn't here...Maybe he already passed on.'
"Let's go, Terunosuke." Serena stretched out her hand."Let's go together."
Terunosuke tried to grab her hand, but an invisible wall prevented him from reaching her. Serena looked puzzled, tilting her head.
(Play oneheart x reidenshi snowfall)
"I figured...I can't go on with you." He shook his head, looking behind him toward the flames in the distance."I did too much to ever be considered a good person. My punishment...is not going where you are."
Dejectedly, Terunosuke turned around and started to walk slowly."I'm sorry...Please, go to the light, Serena."
"No! Please! Don't go!" Serena screamed, tears glistening in her eyes as she tried to go through the wall.
"Don't! Please! If you cross that line, you'll never be able to go back! You'll be stuck in damnation with me!" He pleaded."Just...just stay there, okay?! I...I just want you to know...I love you. I love you so much it hurts. And I'm sorry. I just wanted you to live a happy life and I went to extremes to get you back. And I was wrong! So...just go. I have no right to be happy. No, when I stole the lives of those people. I stole their happiness and their futures. I was never going to make things better. I'm a failure. And I'm sorry."
"At least let me go with you, Terunosuke." Nastassja volunteered."It's my fault this happened."
"Old Hag...No...Mom. You gave all those children a second chance when you helped dismantle FIS and protected the world when the whole Frontier incident happened. You need to watch over the ones you have here. This...is my punishment."
"But you're going to be alone..." Serena covered her mouth, sobbing.
"Yeah..." He smiled sadly."But...I have always been alone. Or at least, I thought I was alone. I never was. All of you...and them..were always in my heart."
"You said it best!"
Terunosuke gasped in shock when he felt an arm around his shoulders. He slowly shifted his gaze to see Jades grinning at him."Jades..."
"Yo! Glad to see you again!" He beamed, ruffling his hair."Don't worry, Serena. I'll keep him company."
"W-what?! Are you stupid?!" Terunosuke pushed him off him."D-do you realize what you're saying?! You'll...you'll..."
"Yeah. I know." Jades's smile never faltered."I'll be going to those flames with you."
"Then why?!" Terunosuke and Jades had returned to their child versions of themselves as the younger brother punched Jades on his chest."Why are you doing this?! Go be happy, you moron! Forget bout me!"
"I can only be happy if you're happy." Jades calmly responded.
"Why?!"
"Because...I love all of my siblings." He leaned closer, resting his forehead against Terunosuke's."All of them. With no exceptions. That's the duty of an older brother."
Terunosuke cried louder as Jades pulled away, grabbing his hand.
"Let's go. I'll never leave you alone. Never. Even if I have to go to the depths of hell with you. That's fine with me, as long as I can protect you." He said lovingly as both brothers headed toward the flames. The people behind them disappeared as their surroundings turned blacker and blacker."I love you, little brother."
"I...I love you too...big brother..." Terunosuke sniffed. And for the first time in years...he was at peace.
The 4 siblings watched as the portal vanished into particles, leaving nothing behind. The severed arm that belonged to their brother broke into particles, vanishing into the wind.
"Teru-nii..." Shirabe fell to her knees.
Kirika started to cry, leaving the two oldest to stare on without saying anything.
Maria noticed two cards on the floor, kneeling to pick them up."Destwilder...and Gigazelle...He threw them over before the portal closed, knowing that if he had thrown Metalgelas, it was going to be absorbed anyway since his soul is connected to Hazuki's..."
"I got a Contract Card...I guess since I was the Rider that indirectly caused his death, the card goes to me, but..." He bit his lower lip. He took a moment to process everything before turning to his sister."We have to go...We can't sit around here. There will be time for mourning later, okay?"
"He's right." Maria placed a hand on Shirabe's back, helping her up."We can cry later. Right now, we have to save the world."
Kirika and Shirabe nodded, tears still present in their eyes as they took longer to calm themselves. One thing was clear. The day had just started and they already felt an immense pain in their hearts as another one of them died, leaving only 4 siblings behind.
Missiong: Prevent Ragnarok
Status: Ongoing
Time: 11:05 am
Remaining Kamen Riders:
Ryuki: Hajime Adachi
Knight: Yosuke Yanagi
Raia: Raiden Amaterasu
Abyss: Hamaguchi Kuroiwa
Alternative: Bragi Third Dienheim
Odin: Hazama Liang
Ryuga: Hazuki Kaburagi
Ouja: Allister Albedo
Defeated Riders:
Scissors: Goro Tanaka (Killed by Ouja)
Verde: Zeke Crowley (Killed by Zolda)
Imperer: Andreas Kagatsuchi (Killed by Ryuga)
Zolda: Takeru Sakamoto (Killed by Ouja)
Femme: Chiaki Nakahara (Killed herself before succumbing to the effects of her Swan Song)
Tiger: Jades Demetrios (Killed by Gai)
Gai: Terunosuke Kuwana (Defeated by Raia, Maria, Shirabe, and Kirika. Killed by Helheim demons)